Michelle Kwan

Michelle Kwan on the ice. (http://sports.popcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/michelle-kwan-6.jpg)

Michelle Kwan is a hero because of many things she does. One of them is that even in defeat, she always showed good sportsmanship to the competitors that won the gold. In all her times to the Olympics, she was never was the winner in that kind of way, but she was still the people’s champion. That’s for sure. When she was thirteen, a young teen, and throughout her years as a skater, she inspired me and many other young skaters to do the sport. That is why I and many others call her a hero.

Michelle was born on July 7, 1980, in Torrance, California, where Michelle, her mother Estella, Michelle’s father Danny, her older sister Karen, and Michelle’s big brother Ron lived. Michelle’s parents ran a Chinese restaurant called the Golden Pheasant. They spoke a mixture of English and Cantonese (Chinese) around the house. Michelle’s father always told Michelle stories when she was little about how it was like living in a small village near the city called Canton, which now us called Guangzhou. Michelle started her skating when she was five years old. But her ankles were weak, she had a little hard time skating. By the way, Michelle’s Chinese name is Kwan Wing Shan.

Soon, Michelle and Karen were winning local competitions. It seemed like one of the sisters were winning every competition. However, there was a problem. The private lessons, costumes, and travel expenses started to add up. The Kwan’s didn’t think that skating would be so expensive. Michelle’s dad and mom were both working full time but that still wasn’t enough. For nine months the sisters didn’t skate with their instructor, Derek. Soon, Danny and Estella decided to sell their house and move into Torrance owned by Danny’s parents. Without any house payments, The Kwans were able to save enough money to start skating again. “Woohoo!” thought Michelle. However, they had to wear hand-me-downs from their cousins, bought used costumes and skates. Danny and Estella started searching for places to skate on weekends for Michelle and Karen. A few days later Michelle’s parents found a place to skate on weekends, but it was 100 miles to get there. Later, Michelle found out when she became a senior, she had to face older girls that had more experience then her! That’s not good. Now you see some challenges and problems that Michelle faced.

Michelle gave contributions as well as skating. One contribution she did is give money to her family. To do that, she had some left over money from skating in competitions. Some new skaters admired Michelle by giving them a memory of happiness. Michelle motivated teens and preteens by them reading some of Disney’s books. Another contribution that Michelle made was that she donates all the stuffed animals given to her by fans, and then she gave them to local children’s hospitals in Los Angeles. So now you see the contributions that Michelle did.

Michelle Kwan had many awards, honors, and recognitions. One was when Michelle just started being a senior; she became known as the youngest skater in twenty years!!! Cool. In 1996 she became a Champion! She did it by winning national and world competitions. Another award is she took home the silver medal in the 1988 Olympics. Now you know Michelle’s honors, awards, and recognitions that she did in her years as a skater.

There are so many character traits that Michelle had, but I am only going to name three. The first one is that she is determined. She skated even when she was sick! Now that’s impressive. Michelle also overcame injuries quickly! Not only she recovers fast, but also she learned quickly too! When Michelle learned something, she knew there was still more to learn. Michelle’s other character trait is that she is one hard worker. Not only does she figure skate, but she also had school too! Boy, does she have a busy schedule or what! But she always makes sure she practices skating for many hours everyday at the rink. Another thing is that she participated in five Olympics just to for fill her dream. Michelle’s last character trait that I’m going to tell you is that she has confidence. In any competition, when she stepped onto the ice, she knew that she could do it! Now is that confidence or what! Also she always stayed positive and focuses on what is needed. Those are Michelle’s character traits.

Now you can see how Michelle Kwan did so many things in her life and not only figure skating for the USFSA (United States Figure Skating Association). She had to do school and help her family and that what makes Michelle Kwan a big hero.